This is a mirror upload of Essena O’Neill’s final YouTube video entitled “Why I REALLY am quitting social media – The Truth” published on 2nd November 2015. I (the uploader) am not Essena, I believe this message is important for young people everywhere who think their self worth is validated by what other people think of them. I invite intelligent discussion.

Please inform yourself with the latest update from Time Magazine. http://time.com/4167856/essena-oneill-breaks-silence-on-quitting-social-media/

Don’t fall into the trap of believing the social media gossip that’s running rampant across youtube and social media sites, as this is the entire reason she exited from the scene and the very clear message in this video.

Who is she? Essena O’Neill is a 19 year old model who had half a million Instagram followers and earned an income from social media who boldly lifted the lid on the addictive and “contrived” sense of beauty that is promoted online to shine light on an unspoken problem affecting her generation.

She had more than 574,000 Instagram followers, around 250,000 subscribers on YouTube and close to 60,000 dedicated Snapchat contacts when she chose to give up her career as a “social media celebrity”.

In January 2016 O’Neill has announced that she is writing a satirical book called How to Be Social Media Famous.

Below is an excerpt from her last communication. Full link here; http://agirlnamedally.tumblr.com/post/136577427665/hello-can-anyone-please-make-this-email-from

“Who I was in the past is not the person I wish to be now. We all make mistakes. We all feel lost, hurt, scared and confused. I was extremely open about that. What got me through all of this was thinking about all of the other people who want to speak up about something they believe in but know the backlash is a guarantee…
Once you put themselves out there, especially on the internet, everyone is freely able to poke, pull and stab as they choose. It’s not fun and no one can ever be fully immune.
I see it like this though. If you are given the opportunity to speak about an experience you know would have helped your past self, or your children or even the people you love… do you stand up and speak, regardless of what you think others might say? Or do you sit in the crowd as the viewer, poke fun, taunt and have an awful opinion on those brave enough to stand up?
I stood up. And I fell crashing down. I stayed there cold and curled up on the floor. It felt like I was chained there, defenceless while others watched from above, mocked, laughed, taunted and enjoyed seeing me so exposed.
Through all the time I was down on the ground, I am grateful. It was that pain that allowed me to start to stand up again.
The next time I speak, the next time you hear from me, I’ll be standing stronger than I could have ever stood before.
So thank you.”

“I only hope you’re okay, and if you’re not that’s okay too. Speak to people, confide in people you trust. Time heals and you are deserving of forgiveness and acceptance.”